BackTata Motors forms product strategy group for CV business
Tata Motors have carved out product strategy group within trucks and buses division to cope up changing technologies
Premium
Mumbai: Changing technologies, regulation and customer preferences have prompted Tata Motors to carve out a product strategy group within the division that produces trucks and buses, on the lines of a similar group that exists in its passenger vehicles division.
The new unit will be led by R. Ramakrishnan, who was earlier heading sales and marketing, designated as senior vice president, product strategy and planning and customer value creation, Tata Motors said in a 4 August circular seen by Mint.
R.T. Wasan, who was heading Tata Motors international business, will take over Ramakrishnan’s role as vice-president, sales and marketing.
This is the second structural change within Tata Motors’ commercial vehicles (CV) unit in six months, as the company takes on increasing competition from Ashok Leyland Ltd and Bharat Benz Ltd, among others.
A Tata Motors spokesperson confirmed the changes.
“Committed to maintaining our CV market leadership by continuing to bring customer-centric products and services, including introducing game-changing offerings, we saw it as imperative to have a dedicated strategy leader for future growth and strategic direction," the company spokesperson said in an email response.
Both Ramakrishnan and Wasan will continue to report to Ravi Pisharody, executive director of the commercial vehicles business unit, she said.
Acording to the Tata Motors circular, the commercial vehicle business is witnessing a dynamic environment with fast changing customer preferences, technological changes and regulatory disruptions.
“These are directly impacting the pattern of demand and the nature of products and attributes influencing the purchasing decisions. Developing insightful foresights, therefore, is going to be critical in strategizing future direction of the business and be ahead of the curve. Therefore, the company’s leadership has recognized the need for a product strategy group which seamlessly integrates with our programme planning and project management team to ensure timely anticipation of market requirement, defining each product idea with greater depth and deliver new products in timely and cost effective manner," the circular said.
To be sure, Tata Motors’ passenger car business unit has a similar function, headed by Girish Wagh. It was formed during the tenure of Karl Slym, the late managing director at the firm. Eighteen months since Slym’s demise, Tata Motors has yet to announce a new managing director.
The latest change follows an organizational restructuring in Tata Motors’ CV business earlier this year. The reorganization involved regrouping the vehicles into two broad groups—those meant for cargo, and those meant for passengers, Mint reported on 12 March. It took effect in April. As part of the new structure, the company did away with product segmentation based on vehicle type and mass, replacing it with a simpler segmentation broadly based on usage.
Even as Tata Motors has seen heavy duty truck sales advance month on month as demand from fleet operators gathers further momentum on back of a strong replacement demand, the market leader has lost share to its nearest rival, Ashok Leyland.
In the first four months from April to July, Tata Motors sold a total of 96038 trucks and buses, down 5% over a year ago. Its share in the CV market slipped to 52% from 54%, whereas Ashok Leyland has seen its share go up to 31% from 26% a year ago, according to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers or Siam. During the period, the overall commercial vehicle market 5.63% to 199552 units over a year ago.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
